Willow Resourcing Limited

HANDLING REJECTION Given the challenges of the current market, I thought it would be useful to remind people of the way I handle rejection, knock-backs etc. I've written about this before but make no apologies for doing so again. It's something I learnt early in my recruitment career and it has been invaluable, because believe me, you have to handle disappointment well to survive in this business! Firstly, I think it's important to vent, to let off steam, to not bottle things up. I usually drag myself away from my desk, and will quite often go for a short walk. I'm also known to swear (quite a bit to be honest) as a way of venting my frustration, I find it helps. I allow enough time to calm down, but I don't dwell. It's important to move on. Secondly, I analyse what went wrong. Could I have done anything different to bring about a more positive outcome? And I learn from my mistakes. And trust me, even after 25 years in recruitment, I'm still learning. AND THEN I MOVE ON. And this is the essential bit. If you get hung up on the past, you can't live in the present. And if you can't live in the present, then you can't plan for the future. And that's key to a successful job search, just as much as it's key to thriving in recruitment. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY I've just placed a candidate who received several offers over the space of a week. The roles were all very similar - Compliance Manager positions with firms operating in the investment management space. The salaries varied quite widely however, with the highest offer being about 15% greater than the lowest. And we all know money talks. Or does it? The firm offering the lowest salary was also offering really flexible working. Their staff can be in the office as often as they like, from 5 days a week to working fully remotely, it's up to them. They also offer 30 days holiday as standard (plus Bank Holidays). This was significantly different to the other employers. In the end this was the clincher. The excellent work-life balance that this firm offered helped persuade the candidate to look beyond the financial headlines of the respective offers. There's more to an offer than the salary. Money still talks, but perhaps not quite as loudly as it did previously. When I discuss opportunities with people, historically the first question they asked was about the salary. That's not the case any more. The first question asked is now more likely to be about the working arrangements than the salary on offer. And that means you don't necessarily need to be offering higher salaries than your competitors to attract the best people. A high degree of flexible working may just give you the edge, as it did in this instance. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

IT'S NOT AS EASY AS YOU MAY THINK With the Risk & Compliance recruitment market having been fairly sluggish so far this year, you'd expect recruitment to be straightforward. There must be suitably qualified people queueing up for roles, surely? Well, no, it's not as easy as you may think. I've been speaking to a couple of clients over the last week who have both had vacancies open for almost 3 months. In both cases they had done their own candidate sourcing (ads and in-house talent teams) and used external agencies, but all to no avail. They admitted to being surprised by their lack of success, especially given current market conditions. But their responses to this lack of success were quite different. The 1st client acknowledged that they were looking for a unicorn candidate but were unwilling to relax any of their requirements. They were happy to keep searching for their unicorn - well 3 unicorns in fact - for as long as it may take. The 2nd client was keen to adapt to market feedback. Following our discussion they pared back their requirements to the absolute essentials and even relaxed the requirement for specific industry experience, something of a rarity for Compliance recruitment in the Financial Services arena. I'm not saying that one approach is right and the other wrong. It can all depend on the circumstances at the time. How urgent is the role? How much time do you have to train new starters? But what I do know is which client is more likely to reach a successful conclusion the quickest. And so if you're recruiting at the moment, don't mistakenly think that it'll be a breeze. The chances are, it won't. Yes, there are unfortunately quite a few Risk & Compliance people out of work at present. But the chances are they're not your unicorn. Adapt to the market. Think about your selection criteria. Do you really need to go on a unicorn hunt? Let's try our best to help people back into work rather than providing barriers for their return. Recruitment? IT'S NOT AS EASY AS YOU MAY THINK #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

ARE WE TURNING A CORNER? As we're all aware, the Risk & Compliance recruitment market has been a bit sluggish so far this year, but I've recently started to see some positive signs that suggest we may be turning a corner. There have been a number of factors that have impacted the market, many of them economic, but the early Easter break also meant that the usual April market uplift was somewhat delayed. But now things have settled down, I'm definitely seeing some green shoots of recovery. These have included 🟢 4 placements in the last 2 weeks, from Manager to 'Head of' level 🟢 11 new roles in the last 2 weeks across a variety of firms, from FinTechs to FTSE listed, and across Risk, Compliance and Financial Crime 🟢 Of these 11 roles, 9 are newly created positions 🟢 Several ongoing discussions about new roles that will be coming to market in May If you have been job hunting this year then I know it's been tough. But there are positive signs that the market is heading in the right direction. Keep doing the right things and your hard work will be rewarded. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON REPUTATION AND VALUES I was speaking to a senior Compliance candidate yesterday who had resigned from their current position without a new role to go to. They were fully aware of the challenges they'd face in securing another position given current market conditions, but felt they had no choice. Their employer had tried to persuade them to stay, even offering them a substantial payrise to do so. But money wasn't the problem. As SMF16 it was their 'name above the door', the compliance buck stopped with them. But as the leadership team has little or no interest in the value and importance of Compliance, they'd become a figurehead with all the responsibility and none of the control. And so it was time to get out. Their reputation and values (and possibly more) were at risk. A quick bit of research showed that the firm's previous SMF16 had also 'enjoyed' a rather short tenure. I'm not sure of their reasons for moving on, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were similar. If your SMF16 (or any other Compliance staff for that matter) chooses to leave your business without a job to go to, especially in a senior job market like this, then that should set the alarm bells ringing. And if they're the 2nd person to do so within a relatively short period of time then you really do have a problem. The challenge of finding a replacement is likely to be the least of your worries. Money is not the answer. A complete change in your approach to Compliance and regulation is the only way forward. YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON REPUTATION AND VALUES #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED PLAYING - THE CHALLENGE FACING THE SENIOR MARKET The senior Risk & Compliance recruitment market has been very slow for the last year or so and I'm sure it has been a very frustrating time for anyone looking for a new role at this level. But why has the market been so slow? And when will it improve? If we take a snapshot of the senior market (and by this I'm referring to typical SMF functions, SMF4, SMF16 and SMF17) at any given time, we see a fixed number of positions available. Let's picture them as seats in a game of musical chairs. In this snapshot, we'll see that the vast majority of seats are taken. So there's very little in the way of opportunities to move from your current seat, even if you wanted to do so. And there's even less chance for someone new to join the game. Someone seeking their first 'Head of' role. Every so often someone may elect to retire or step down. Their seat becomes free and there will be a brief flurry of activity, but then everything settles down again. If we rely on this natural attrition to free up seats, it becomes a very slow game. It's a game of musical chairs where the music has stopped playing. And unfortunately with numbers of businesses going under, the actual number of seats in the game may well be decreasing. What we need are new chairs to be introduced into the game. Job creation introduces new chairs. Job creation at a senior level typically occurs in 2 ways. Start-up and scale-up. These days it's nigh on impossible to secure FCA authorisation without hiring a Head of Compliance who can take on the SMF16 function. Or for a payments firm to do so without an MLRO. And when a business scales, we can see the various SMF functions split out from a single role. One Head of Compliance & MLRO position can become 2 separate roles. A Head of Risk & Compliance evolves similarly. The introduction of these new chairs into the game stimulates movement. Whether you are interested in start-ups and scale-ups is neither here nor there, someone will be, and that's all we need to get people moving. But start-ups and scale-ups require investment. And investment levels have fallen dramatically (investment in Fintechs dropped by 34% in 2023). FinTech deal levels (M&A, PE and VC) dropped by over 35% last year. The first half of this year has continued in a similar vein. It's not hard to see why investment has fallen. High inflation and rising interest rates lie at the heart of this decline. But that alone is reason for optimism. Inflation is under control and is now down to 3.2%. It's anticipated that interest rates will follow suit, with the first cut being predicted as early as June. As such, we'd expect to see levels of investment increase in H2 and on into 2025. And with that will come job creation. New chairs will be introduced into the game. And the music will start playing. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

THE BEAUTY OF THE FIXED TERM CONTRACT I'm seeing an increasing number of fixed term contracts coming to market and really can't stress enough that if you're between permanent roles you really should be giving them serious consideration. Fixed term contracts mean you will be put on the client's payroll and also receive benefits (including holidays) as if you were a permanent employee. The salaries on offer are therefore aligned to the equivalent permanent position, and it's this fact that puts the vast majority of 'professional' contractors off. They tend to only be interested in day rate interim assignments (which are typically far more lucrative than the permanent salary equivalent). And that means competition for fixed term contracts is usually considerably lower than for any other vacancies. Essentially only 'permanent' candidates between permanent roles are likely to apply. The shorter the contract, the less interest there is. Taking on a fixed term contract can buy you some time when the permanent market is sluggish. They can really add value to your CV and also mean you're keeping your regulatory knowledge up to date. And they can lead to more. Contracts can be extended or even made permanent. And once on board you are usually free to apply for any suitable internal vacancies that arise (just like any other employee), so even if your particular contract comes to an end you could well secure yourself another role within the business. The contract can provide you with an ideal platform to showcase your talents. So don't overlook Fixed Term Contracts. They could well be the 'foot in the door' that you need. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

HOW AND WHEN TO UPDATE YOUR CV Let's face it, most people update their CV when they start to look for a new role. But it's then easy to forget things you've done, value you've added and so on, especially if it has been several years since your last update. My advice is to update your CV every 3 months. This has several benefits. ✔️ You're more likely to remember all of your achievements etc. ensuring your CV is as thorough and strong as possible. ✔️ Your CV will be ready to go quickly, with minimal updating required if you are approached about an interesting opportunity, or see a job ad that catches your eye. ✔️ It can also act as a good indicator of when it's time to make a move. If you've had no updates to add to your CV for 2 consecutive 3-month periods then it could be argued that you're standing still, and have probably taken the role as far as you can. If you get into this routine then it really will help when you do come to look for your next role. And it may just tell you when it's time to do so as well. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

REASONS TO BE POSITIVE If you've been looking for a new Risk & Compliance role in 2024, you may well have found the market quite challenging so far. But be assured, you're not alone. But also be assured that this is actually quite normal for this time of year. This is my 25th year in recruitment and January and February are usually amongst the quietest months in the recruitment calendar. There have been exceptions, but they're exactly that, exceptions to the rule. Early year recruitment is usually reliant on small businesses. The larger organisations typically shut up shop from around November through to March. March and April usually herald the arrival of new recruitment budgets in larger firms and those recruitment freezes will start to thaw. It's also bonus season for many organisations. Natural churn of staff tends to go on hold in the run up to this time of year as people can be reluctant to move when they're due a decent bonus. But as soon as bonuses hit bank accounts, that churn begins. There will be plenty of people sat on offers who will wait until their bonus is paid before handing in their notice. And there will be plenty more who will (re)start their job searches now the money is in the bank. And so just as January and February are typically slow months for recruitment, March, April, May and even June and usually amongst the busiest. And so if you are looking for a new role, forget what has happened so far this year and focus on what's to come. There really are reasons to be positive. #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime

THE ART OF RECRUITMENT COMMUNICATION - A TRUE STORY I'm working with a client at the moment that understands the art of communication during the recruitment process and excels at it. I'm working on a couple of senior roles with them and both myself and the candidates involved been really impressed. Now what they're doing is not rocket science. It's really simple stuff. But the reality is that recruitment communication is often so poor that it becomes really easy to stand out from the crowd. As is often the case, because early stage interviews in particular are done virtually via Teams, Zoom etc. or the good old fashioned telephone, the client has contact details for all shortlisted candidates. And they've used these details to keep in touch with them throughout the process (with my permission), whilst keeping me in the loop throughout. This is what they've done. ✔️ They've sent out a thank you message (via email or text) after every interview, confirming timescales for feedback etc. ✔️ They've provided detailed feedback. ✔️ On a couple of occasions when they've not been able to meet previously mentioned timescales they've contacted the candidates concerned and apologised for the delay, providing a reason for that delay and new timescales. Simple stuff as I said. It's that easy to stand out from the crowd. And it's made such an impact. ✔️ All candidates have been really impressed with the quality of communication and it has really played a part in increasing their interest in the opportunity. ✔️ Candidates have remained engaged throughout the process, even when there was an unavoidable delay after 1st round interviews. ✔️ A number of candidates have expressed interest in becoming customers and also recommended the client to friends and family. After all, if they communicate with their customers as well as they do with their job applicants, then they're already doing better than most of the competition. How good is your communication with candidates during the interview process in particular? Could you be doing more? #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime